


From Wonderland

by hisJabberwocky14



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Bottom Eren Yeager, Dominant Levi (Shingeki no Kyojin), Eren Yeager Has Heterochromia Iridum, Gang Violence, Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-07-22
Updated: 2016-07-22
Packaged: 2018-07-26 03:37:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 11,574
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7558627
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hisJabberwocky14/pseuds/hisJabberwocky14
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The man with the black cape clicked the safety off his gun and pointed it at Eren. "Oi, brat. Do you want to live or die? Because if your option isn't the latter, I suggest you get the fuck out of Wonderland."</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Future

**Prologue**

How did he get here?

When did he take this horrible turn in his life?

He was helpless in this chair, unable to fight against the man that brought him here.

Handcuffs were around his wrist and ankles. A blindfold blocked his vision. He shifted.

Why hadn't he heeded any of the warnings? There were plenty of them. He'd been fucked since the very beginning.

Eren felt hands on his face. His shuffling ceased.

The hands lifted his blindfold. Eren kept his eyes on the floor. When they finished adjusting to the room's dim light, he slowly lifted his head.

The man sat on a throne. One leg was crossed over the other. A black cape flowed over his shoulder and down his back.

His grey eyes locked on Eren and the boy supressed a shiver.

A smirk stretched across his face.

"And the predator catches his prey." The low voice drawled.

Eren fought back his fear and sneered. "Let me go, you bastard."

A foot appeared and kicked him in the stomach. Eren coughed and something red flew out of his mouth.

The man slowly walked towards Eren. He put his finger under the boy's chin and lifted his head. He stared at Eren, looking at his green eye before switching to the gold.

"I hate to tell you this, Alice," the man caressed Eren's cheek, "but once you're in, you're in for good."


	2. Roses

Eren woke with a start.

The electric clock on his bedside table told him it was two in the morning and he internally groaned, knowing he'd be up for the next four hours.

He rubbed his eyes and tried to stop his heart from beating out of his chest.

The nightmares were usually bearable, but this one had seemed so.....real.

Once he was calm, he flopped back down onto the mattress. 

The visions always started the same way.

_There was an open field of white roses under a clear, blue sky. Eren ran into the field and frolicked, kicking up grass and petals. But when Eren tried to touch the flowers, they shied away._

_On and on he went, reaching for every flower. The stems bent and the petals jerked._

_He arrived at the middle of the field. The one rose he hadn't reached for stood, swaying gently in the breeze. He quickly grabbed at the rose._

_It didn't move away._

_The second his fingers came in contact with the flower, the stem drooped and the petals turned navy blue and black. All around Eren, the white rose petals went to navy and black and they bent towards the floor. The blue sky turned gray. A dark figure began approaching the edge of the field._

_As the figure got closer, Eren tried to run away and found that he couldn't. Vines erupted from the ground and held down his arms and legs. Soon enough, the figure was right before him and it lifted an object that glinted in the remaining light. Eren couldn't even fight his assailant as it cleanly sliced off his head._

He didn't know where the dream came from, or why he kept having it every night for the past two weeks. But he barely gets enough sleep.

Eren glanced at the clock again.

2:04.

He sighed and rolled over, closing his eyes and hoping to get a bit more rest.

* * *

"Eren....Eren, are you up?"

He groaned and squeezed his eyes together before cracking them open.

His sister Mikasa stood over him, her red scark dangling from from her neck and brushing lightly across Eren's face. "Hey. You need to get up or you'll be late for work again."

He stared at her for a moment before flipping the blanket off of him and rushing into the bathroom. The sheets ended up hitting Mikasa in the face. She caught them and smiled. 

When Eren was bathed and dressed, he grabbed a muffin in a brown paper bag off the kitchen counter and rushed out the door, yelling his goodbye. 

Eren worked at a little cafe in downtown Trost. The owner, Dot Pixis, was a kind old man fond of getting drunk. He took Eren in, despite his lack of experience, and gave him a job with reasonable pay. Nevertheless, Pixis hated it when people were late- _especially_ on a Monday morning.

Eren glanced at his watch. 7:16. He had less than half an hour to get to work. He started to walk faster, then broke out into a run, making it to the bus just in time. The cool air felt wonderful on his skin, and once he found a seat he ate his muffin.

When Eren reached his stop, he followed the mob of people trying to make their way to the exit. The second he was out, he started running again.

Another glance at his watch. 7:27.

Eren turned the corner. He could see shop's striped white and red banner from across the street.

_7:28._

Eren cursed as the light went red. There was no way he'd be able to dash across without getting hit by a car.

_7:29_

The light went green. Eren sprinted down the block. Pixis was in the process of flipping the sign.

_7:30._

BOOM!

Eren slammed into the shop, sliding in on the floor like a rock star at the end of his show. Pixis barely jumped out the way in time. 

"And he's safe!" Eren heard from behind the counter. Lifting his head and panting for breath, he spotted his friend Connie and Connie's girlfriend, Sasha. She was eating a cookie, wearing a huge smile on her face. "Go Eren!  _That's_ how a pro starts his Monday morning!"

With that, his day began.

 


	3. Warnings

Eren pulled on his candy cane striped apron over his white polo and khaki pants. He began his work. 

The little bell over the door jingled and an elderly woman came in. She immediately sat down at the booth by the window.

Eren gave her a few minutes before he came over. "Good morning! My name's Eren, what can I get for you today?" He pulled out his little notebook and pencil and smiled.

"You can get me a new waiter." The woman spat. "I like the other boy, the one with two different colors of hair." 

Eren's pencil almost snapped in two, but he shoved his hands out of sight and smiled. "Of course, miss. He'll be right with you." She nodded as Eren dashed behind the counter towads the employee break room.

"Horseface! The old woman sitting by the window wants you-gah!"

When he opened the door, he saw Jean passionately making out with his boyfriend Marco. Once they realized they weren't alone anymore, the two boys jumped apart. Jean looked upset and Marco blushed.

"Damn it, Jaegar, what do you want?" Jean asked as he fixed his hair and straightened up.

Eren smirked. "A customer is asking for you, an elderly woman sitting by the window. Go get 'em, lover boy."

Jean scoffed, kissed Marco's forehead, and left the room.

Eren clapped his hands on Marco's shoulder and laughed.

* * *

A few hours later, Annie, Bertholdt, and Reiner came in for their shifts, which meant Eren could go get lunch. He high-fived the three before taking off his apron and leaving through the back exit.

He walked to the nearest deli and ordered his favorite sandwich. After eating, he had half an hour to kill, so Eren decided to take a walk.

What a poor decision that'd been. 

As Eren was passed the mouth of an alley, he heard shouting and grunting. He paused.

The alley wasn't too dark as it was one in the afternoon, but the dark figures were shaded by the towering buildings.

 _It's none of my business,_ Eren thought _. I should leave before I-_

A gut-wrenching scream rang out from the alley.

_Ah, fuck it. I'm so gonna regret this...._

Eren looked both ways before he snuck into the alley. He waited till he got close enough to see the clothes on the figures and hid behind an empty dumpster. It was a group of five men. They all wore navy blue shirts and white pants.

Another scream, a lot louder now that Eren was closer. He winced.

"Hey, shut it, will you? Are you trying to get help? No one is coming for you."

"You should have known this was coming." This voice was female, and it came from farther up. Eren tilted his head back and spotted a figure sitting on three dumpsters stacked atop each other. She was swinging her legs back and forth, and gold little bells were ringing from her shoes. Her voice was playful and intrigued. "I mean, honestly, you borrowed money from His Majesty after all."

Eren's brow scrunched in confusion. _His Majesty? Who the hell was that?_

The gasping man on the floor seemed to know the name very well. "I-I promise I have the money. I told Rex-"

The woman threw her head back and laughed. "Let me guess. You told Rex that you'd have the money in a couole weeks, right?" She stopped swinging her legs. "But, Nile, you said that a couple weeks ago." She started to stand atop the dumpsters and turned her back to them but continued talking. "You know His Majesty isn't unreasonable. We were sent here to find you for a specific purpose." The woman spread her arms open wide and started to fall backwards. 

Something sharp glistened in the air for a moment, this disappeared.

The woman tucked her body into a ball and flipped twice before she landed on her feet, knees bent, one palm on the floor. 

_Damn._

Eren's arm was stinging and he glanced at it to find blood running ftom an open wound. When and why had he started bleeding? He silently cursed and fished out clean napkins from his pocket. _The perks of being a waiter._   He kept putting pressure on the wound and returned his attention to the situation at hand. 

"So, Nile dearest. What excuse do you have this time? You need one week? A day? The money's at your apartment?" With each question the woman got closer and closer to the man, Nile, until she was on his stomach. He cried out in pain as she made herself comfortable on his ribs. With the flick of her wrist, the woman pulled out a tiny dagger in seconds and pressed it hard enough to draw blood from Nile's neck.

"This is His Majesty's last warning. He's been extremely kind this time. Bring the money to the usual place in exactly a month." With each word, the woman added s cut to Nile's face. The ones around his face were shallow, but those by his eyes were deep. "Your wounds should be healed by then, yes?" She smiled sweetly and flipped the dagger back into her sleeve. Then she snapped her fingers and turned to the mouth of the alley. "Let's go, boys."

Eren realized they were heading in his direction. He quietly shuffled to the side of the dumpster that wasn't facing the front. The group left the scene. 

When the woman stepped into the light, Eren was shocked. She wore a navy blue and white dress checkered like a chess board with a black bow at the waist. A tiny, navy hat with a white ribbon rested in her brown ponytail. She wore black boots with small gold bells on the side. The sun hit her glasses and shaded her eyes.

And just like that, they were gone. 

Eren sat there for a couple more minutes before moving. He threw away the bloody napkins and approached Nile's unconscious body. 

He was covered in bruises and blood. His leg was twisted at an awkward angle and his face looked like a puffy black and blue marshmellow.

Eren called him an ambulance, gave them the street address, and disappeared by the time the medics arrived.

* * *

When Eren got back to work, he said nothing to anyone about what he witnessed. He put a band-aid on his wound, and no one questioned him on why he smelled faintly of a dumpster. 

At 5:30, Reiner took over Eren's shift. He hung up his apron and caught the next train to Trost University. Today, Eren made it to his first class, Calculus, with time to spare. After Psychology, Eren was back on his way home.

He turned the key in the lock and opened the front door of his apartment.

Mikasa and his best friend Armin were sitting on the couch, propping a textbook up between them and taking turns reading passages.

"Hey, Kasa. Armin." He hugged them. "How's the studying going?"

"Good." Mikasa replied. "I left your dinner in the microwave."

"Aw, thank you. I'm just gonna shower and change really fast. Be right back."

Once Eren was bathed, clothed, and fed, he joined his friends on the couch. They quizzed each other for a while, then decided to take a break. Mikasa went to the kitchen to get a cup of water. Eren recalled the earlier events of that day and his words faltered.

"What's wrong, Eren?" Armin asked.

"Well......would you happen to know who a guy named Rex is?"

A crash sounded from the kitchen. Armin dropped the textbook he was holding on the floor. Mikasa shot from the other room and stood before him in seconds. "Would you please repeat that?" She asked stenly.

Eren narrowed his eyes. A man named Rex, or His Majesty. Do you know of him?"

"Why?" Mikasa asked, gripping Eren's shoulders tightly. "Do you owe anyone money? Have people been following you?"

"No!" Eren shook his head fiercely. I just heard someone talking about him and I got curious....."

Armin and Mikasa let out a relieved breath. "What? Why is he so bad?" Eren asked.

Armin picked his book up. "Rex, or 'His Majesty' as he's referred to by his subordinates, is the leader of Trost's most notorious gang. They don't have a name. They are anywhere and everywhere. He isn't kind to those that take from him without paying back and is  _extremely_ possessive. His members seem to just come and go out of nowhere."

Mikasa got a broom from the closet and spoke from the kitchen as she cleaned. "If you owe him, he never forgets. He'll leave his symbol, the wings of freedom, on one of your possessions or house or job as a warning or notice. In time, he'll send his members after you. The significance of the members sent depends on the severity of the debt."

"What's the order?" Eren asked.

"Here." Armin pulled it up on his computer. "They're pretty much feared by all of Trost."

Eren looked at the Wikipedia page. "Rex is the leader, number one. His right and left hands, numbers two and three are the Blue Caterpillar and the Mad Hatter. Then comes The Red Knight, who physically goes after enemies of the leader. Next is the White Knight, who deals with all the technical affairs. Then the White Rabbit, who gets info from the White Knight and tells the King when and where his enemies will move. Last but not least are the men in navy and white: the card soldiers." Eren raised an eyebrow. "They really thought this out, huh?"

Eren spotted their symbol on the web page. The infamous white and navy wings crossing over each other.

The Mad Hatter must have been the woman he saw today. If she really is third in command, Nile must have done something shitty to get her out in the streets. 

"Aren't they supposed to be a secret gang, though? Having all this information online is dangerous, isn't it?" Eren asked as Mikasa joined them again. 

The two shared looks.

"What?" Eren demanded. "That was a perfectly reasonable question."

"We never said it wasn't, Eren. It's just. .."

"There's a rumor that the White Knight hacked Trost's City Hall so that only full Trost citizens get access to this information." Armin said. "Enemies coming in won't be recognized by the system and will gain zero information."

"Damn." Eren whistled. "These giys sound legit. How did you two know so much?"

MIkasa rolled her eyes. "We watch the news, Eren. Channel One has a full hour dedicated to their activity every day."

"Oh." Eren said. This explains why he knew so little-Eren avoided the news at all costs.

"Well, I think it's about time we get back on the topic of school." Armin said.

They studied for another hour. Armin and Eren crashed on Eren's bed. As he went to sleep, Eren thought,  _those guys must be pretty cool._

That is, until he went to work the next morning and found the wings of freedom painted on his locker door.

 

 

 


	4. Taken

**Yesterday, 3:00 pm**

The woman skipped into the dark complex with a huge grin on her face. She really enjoyed being sent out on the field, as it never happened often. Torturing Nile had been the highlight of her day. Now all she had to do was report back to His Majesty, and she'd be free to spend the rest of the day as she wished. 

The woman threw open the double doors to the throne room. The navy and white soldiers bowed their greetings and she made her way down the blue carpet to the king. 

She approached the throne, and curtsied before the man sitting on it. With a flick of his wrist, he signaled for her to stand up. 

"Your Majesty." She grinned. "Mad Hatter reporting from Mission 201. Nile Dawk received your message loud and clear. We should accept payment in a month."

"Tch." The man said and rolled his eyes. "You seem way to fucking happy, shitty glasses. I don't even want to know what you did."

This made Hatter's grin get even bigger. She saluted. "Of course, Your Majesty. And I have another piece of information that might interest you."

The man stared at her and sighed. "You're practically shaking in excitement,  four-eyes, so just tell me."

Hatter threw her hands in the air. "It's Alice!"

The entire room went silent. The king leaned forward in great interest. "Alice, you say?"

Hatter nodded. "As my squad was intimidating Nile, he got a little loud, and Alice heard him. She came running into the alley and hid behind a dumpster. And the rumors are true, my lord. Alice has one eye of green and another of gold." 

The man glared at Hatter. "So you finally catch wind of Alice, and you just let her go?"

Hatter shook her head. "Of course not, my lord. When I flipped down from atop the dumpsters, I threw one of my trackers right into Alice's vein. I saw her clutching the wound with napkins."

The king's eyebrows lifted ever so slightly. "Is that so? Excellent work, Hatter. That's the kind of clever thinking I expect from my soldiers. You may take the rest of the day off."

Hatter curstied. "Thank you, my lord."  She turned and began to walk back towards the double doors.

Right before she left, the king called out once more. "Call Rabbit for me, will you? I have a job for her."

* * *

**Today, 7:35 in the morning**

Eren didn't know what to say as he and Mikasa sat in Pixis' office. 

What was Mikasa doing at his job? Why, because this morning, when Eren went to put his things in his employee locker, he found everybody else bunched together. 

Sasha was gripping Connie's hand tightly. Ymir was hugging Christa and rocking her back and forth. Annie and Jean stared on without saying anything. Reiner shook his head, repeating "it's a damn shame" over and over again. Marco looked at the floor and sniffled.

Eren was shocked. "Guys, what's wrong?"

At the sound of his voice, everyone lifted their heads. Well, everyone except for Christa. She started sobbing into Ymir's shirt.

"Eren!" She cried. "I'm so sorry! It's just so unfair!"

"What are you talking about?" Eren asked. "You didn't do anything Christa, please don't cry."

"She should be crying."Jean snorted. "Dude, you're so dead you're already in the afterlife."

"Yep." Annie agreed.

"It was nice knowing you Eren." Sasha said.

"Okay, can somebody tell me what the hell is going on here?" Eren demanded.

They all shared looks and nodded before stepping away from Eren's locker. His heart stopped.

The wings of freedom practically shone on his locker. The crossed navy and white picture was like a flashing sign to Eren-a sign flashing his death.

"Holy shit." He whispered.

"Holy shit is right." Connie said. "Eren, what the hell did you do to draw attention from Trost's scariest gang?"

"I have no idea!" He protested. "I literally didn't know they existed until yesterday!"

"It seems they know you very well." A deep voice murmured.

When Eren turned around, he saw Pixis standing there with a hand under his chin and a thoughtful expression on his face. "I'll have to call your sister now, won't I?"

Mikasa came into the cafe with her guns blazing. She rushed into Pixis' office. "Eren hasn't done anything with those people, I swear it on my life!"

Pixis chuckled at her crazed expression. "Hello again, Mikasa. Please, take a seat."

She sat next to Eren with a determined look. "Please, Pixis. You've known us for five years now."

"I only learned about them yesterday." Eren said.

He held up a hand. "I never said Eren had anything to do with the gang. Sometimes the Wings of Freedom notice you before you notice them."

The siblings paused. "So they randomly took an interest in me....and decided to give me a warning?"

Pixis nodded. "Something like that. Although, I doubt the random part. A careful group like that must always have a reason. Anyway, the means by which they took an interest isn't the issue. The fact that they did might scare off our customers and....as much as I love you both like my own children, I'm afraid the shop doesn't need the bad publicity."

Eren's eyes widened. "Pixis please don't say what I think you're about to."

Pixis gave him an apologetic look. Eren slumped in his chair. "It's only temporary. I can give you your paycheck for this month and the next, but everything else is out of my hands."

Mikasa stood and thanked him as he handed her the checks. It took three tugs for Eren to stand. At the last second, Pixis hugged them. "You guys are always welcome, you know? Come get some food and anything you want will be on the house."

"We appreciate it." Eren mumbled into his shirt. Pixis let them go and Eren had to empty out his locker.

He said goodbyes to his coworkers. "Remember, this is only temporary. I'll be back in no time to kick your ass, Horseface."

"Yeah, if the Wings don't get you first." Jean muttered. Marco elbowed him hard.

As Eren and Mikasa left the Little Titan Cafe, they didn't notice they were being followed by a group of men.

Men in white and blue.

* * *

"I still can't believe it, Kasa. What are we going to do now?" Eren muttered.

"We'll get through it, we always do. How about when we get home, we call Armin to come hang out with us? We can order pizza or takeout."

"We need to start saving money, Mikasa."

They passed by the alley where Eren found Nile.

"I'm sure Armin would be happy to pay for it."

Eren sighed. "Alright."

Suddenly, he was grabbed from behind.

His attacker dragged him into the familiar alley.

A navy cloth covered his nose. Eren tried to hold his breath.

He heard Mikasa's scream. She was fighting off two men, trying to make her way back to Eren.

The edges of his vision started to blur and tears leaked out of his eyes. 

Soon enough, the darkness took over Eren's mind and he went limp in the stranger's arms.

Mikasa fought even harder once she saw her brother go limp, but one attacker held her down and the other slammed her head into the ground, successfully knocking her out.

The three men nodded at each other and lay the siblings down next to each other.

"What we do now?" One asked.

"God, Hannes, are you actually intoxicated all the time?" The one next to him. "Our orders were to get the kids and bring them back to Rex."

"I'm just glad they didn't see my face." Hannes said.

"Yeah, yeah, you want to keep things the way they are with your precious kids." The other grunted. "Let's get out of here."

They disappeared into the darkness.

* * *

_Eren was back in his old room. He and Mikasa were tiny again, and they huddled up under the covers together, trying to hide from the booming voices coming from the other room._

_"Don't you think this has gone on long enough, Grisha? I want a safe environment for my children to grow up in, not this false security you keep promising!"_

_"I know what I'm doing, Carla! This is going to help all of us in the long run. We have a way to pay for the kids' school now, and your medication! It's all going to be fine."_

_His mother's voice softened, but they still heard everything through the paper thin walls. "I don't want you stealing money from that man anymore, Grisha. He's ruthless. I live in the constant fear that you're going to be caught and you'll never come home again. I refuse to have to listen to my children asking where their father has gone....because I won't have an answer for them."_

_Silence._

_Eren and Mikasa looked at each other in the darkness. Mikasa reached out and he gripped her hand tightly. Not saying a word, they curled up next to each other and closed their eyes, wishing for the morning to come._

Eren opened his eyes.

Everything around him was dark. When his eyes adjusted, he saw that he was in a cage. He wrapped his hands around the bars and tugged, but they were shut tightly. 

The room around him was all navy blue. He remembered the hands grabbing at him and Mikasa and his eyes widened. They were taken by the card soldiers.

They were in the dungeon of Trost's most vicious gang.

Although....for a dungeon, it  _was_ pretty clean.

"...Eren?" He heard Mikasa's voice and turned his head to the left. 

"Mikasa! Are you alright?" She was in a cage too. "Yeah, I'm fine."

"Do you remember what happened?"

She clenched her fists. "All I remember is that bastard that put a cloth on your nose and you passed out. Then, somebody knocked me in the head."

Eren nodded and looked down. "I'm sorry for dragging you into this, Mikasa."

She jerked her head up. "What are you talking about?!"

He looked at her, and she stared back into his eyes as she always had-noticing the green first, and then the gold. "They were after me. If you hadn't been with me, you could have been safe at home."

Mikasa hung her head. "You're an idiot, Eren."

"Eh?!"

"I don't care where we are or what happens, as long as I can keep you safe." She reached her hand out through the bars and Eren took it. 

Just like that, it was almost as if they were kids again, holding hands under the blanket and avoiding the entirr world.

Loud footsteps echoed outside the door. Mikasa took her hand from Eren's and tensed. They both watched as it creaked open.

Two men stepped in. The first was very tall, about six feet, and had short blonde hair. He wore a white, button down shirt with a navy blue vest and white slacks. The second had the attire of a regular card soldier. When the first man turned to face the siblings, two things caught Eren's attention.

The second was his eyes. Wise, serious blue eyes that looked like they'd fought in every human war possible and lived to tell the tale.

However, the first things Eren noticed were his eyebrows. 

"So you are the prisoners, eh?" The man stepped forward and studied them. Mikasa gave him a sharp look, while Eren was just trying to understand who he was.

He noticed Mikasa and smirked. "Your Highness." He gave a little bow.

Eren stared at Mikasa, asking an obvious question with his eyes, but she never returned his gaze.

When he saw Eren, his eyes widened. "Ah, Alice has returned to us once again."

Eren twisted his brows in confusion, but he shook it off. "I don't know who you are or what this Alice stuff is, but I don't care. You need to let us go."

The man chuckled. "And why would I do that, Alice?"

Eren growled. "Don't call me Alice. That's not my name."

The man completely ignored him. "Well, I apologize, Alice, but we can't let you go. Two very important people want to speak with you."

"Oh yeah? And who exactly would that be?" Eren sneered.

"The Blue Caterpillar and the Mad Hatter, of course." The man waved to the guard and the man made a move to open up the cage doors.

Eren wasprepared to jump on the man's back, but the other male's voice stopped him. "Oh, and I wouldn't try anything if I were you, Alice." He brandished a dart gun. "These tranquilizers weren't meant for you."

Any plan Eren had cooking up in his head disappeared as fast as it had come.

"Come along now, children."

They were freed, and Eren and Mikasa walked behind the strange man with the guard and guns at their backs.

 

 

 

 


	5. Debts

As they were led around the compound, Eren studied his surroundings. He took note of things and places that stood out so that, when he had a chance to run away, they'd be something like checkpoints.

The walls were the same color as everyone's uniforms so Eren and Mikasa stuck out like sore thumbs. The hallway was wide with the windows near the ceiling, almost like a hall in a castle. However, they were about the length of five patterned blue and white boxes.

Eren couldn't help but notice how clean everything was. There wasn't a speck of dirt, grime, or blood anywhere, not even in the dungeon.

Suprisingly, Mikasa wasn't paying attention. In fact, she was glaring at the back of the tall blonde man's head and clenching her fists. His sister muttered under her breath, and he caught a few phrases. 

"I can't believe......stupid brother.....taken him......gotta get to Armin....." 

His brows furrowed in confusion, but Eren avoided bothering her when she was apparently in deep thought.

After a while, they reached the end of the hall and turned the corner. "Here we are." The man stepped aside and let them enter the room. It was a simple room, with four chairs and a metal blue table-an interrogation room at its finest. The guard waited for the man to enter, then closed the door behind him and assumed position.

"Hey, what the hell is going on?" Eren asked. "Why are we here? Why do you keep calling me 'Alice' and my sister 'Your Highness'? Is it a debt you think we owe? We didn't take anything from you."

"That's where you're wrong, young one, but we're waiting for someone, so we'll talk about it in a moment." He smirked. 

"Get over yourself, Erwin." Mikasa, who had said nothing the entire time, finally spoke. "I can't believe you all went this far."

Eren whipped around to fully face her. "You knew who he was the whole time?!" He asked incredulously.

Her eyes dropped to her lap so that her hair covered her face and she refused to answer.

Quickly approaching footsteps were heard near the doorway, but when Eren looked, no one was there. He was about to turn back around when a face slammed into the tiny window in the door. He jumped and jostled into Mikasa. There was a muffled yell from outside the door and the face smiled. The guard from before opened it, sighing and shaking his head.

Eren's eyes widened in surprise. It was the woman from the alleyway. She wore the same dress, shoes, hat, glasses, and maniac smile. 

"Ah, Hatter. You're finally here." The man smiled.

"I'd never miss a duty given to me by His Majesty, Blue."

Eren eyed them warily. "Let me guess." He pointed at Erwin, then the woman. "You're the Blue Caterpillar, and you're the Mad Hatter, second and third to the ruler of all..." he waved towards the room and outside,  "this, known as His Majesty or Rex."

The woman smiled and clapped in excitement. "Wow, somebody did their research!"

Erwin nodded. "Yes. Now that Hatter has arrived, we can talk. Previously-"

Suddenly the woman, Hatter, gasped and her hand covered her mouth. "How rude of me! I can't believe I didn't greet you properly, Your Highness." She faced Mikasa and sunk into a deep curtsy. Mikasa made no motion of acknowledgement, but her fists clenched even tighter. 

"....Anyway," Erwin continued, "Previously, you claimed that you didn't take anything from us. Unfortunately, that's not true. Hatter, the files."

The woman got extremely serious and sat, pulling out and opening a folder. "It states here that on November 20, 2001, Card Soldier Grisha Jaegar, put in the Medic section of our compound as a doctor, was reported for stealing money from His Majesty for a number of years. That  man would be your father, correct?" She eyed them both.

Eren gaped at her. "Well?" Erwin asked. "It's an easy question." She folded her hands. "Is this man your sperm donor or not?"

Because he had seen what she was capable of, and because Mikasa appeared to be no help, Eren slowly nodded. "Yes, he's my dad. But Mikasa and I haven't seen him in years."

"Oh?" Hatter asked. "How unfortunate. We were hoping you would be the bait to lure him to us, but it seems he isn't even in town."

Eren's eyes narrowed. "You wanted to use me-"

"Moving on," Hatter interrupted, "Grisha was never caught and his sentence of death by beatings was never carried out. We don't want to kill you, but we do want our money back. You can either pay the full amount or work off the debt."

"Are you serious?!" Eren asked jumping up. In seconds, Erwin had the dart gun out but Mikasa was faster. She wrenched his wrist backwards and plucked the gun from his hands. He got the hint and backed off and Eren continued. "I don't think you understand. Our father left us nothing but the clothes in our drawers and a house full of bills. My sister and I have to slave away to make ends meet."

"That's surprising considering the fact that your sister has one of the highest positions in Trost's society." Hatter said. 

Eren stopped and looked at her. "No. She's my adopted sister, Mikasa Jaegar. For practically my whole life, we've been together."

"That may be," Erwin started, "but she's also someone else entirely who's very important in Wonderland."

Eren looked at his sister. "....What are they talking about, Kasa?"

Mikasa was silent and it was a while until she could speak. "My name is Mikasa Ackerman, and the leader of this gang is my older cousin."

* * *

_October 29th, 2005_

_Eren and Mikasa were around nine years old. Carla was still well enough to take them out at that time, and it was at least a year before Grisha left them._

_The children really wanted to go all out for Halloween that year and begged their parents to take them out. Surprisingly enough, they both agreed without arguing about it._

_They went to the party store and bought costumes and decorations. Eren remembered it as the most fun he'd had in what felt like forever._

_So of course, all good things came to an end._

_Grisha and Carla left the kids in the house by themselves for two hours. They knew the rules: lock the doors, turn off the lights, don't pick up the phone and ignore all human life._

_They were upstairs when a crash sounded from the living room below_ _. Eren gripped Mikasa's hand tightly and they hid in the closet. They thought it was a thief and was sure that he would find nothing in their spartan home and leave._

_Instead, footsteps were heard on the stairs. They got louder and louder until they were right outside the children's door._

_The lock jiggled for a couple minutes and the door creaked open. A tall figure wearing black clothing walked into the room. He looked around for a while, mumbling under his breath. Just as he was about to leave the room, Eren stumbled on one of his shoes and bumped his knee into the closet door._

_The man whipped around and dashed towards the door, throwing it open. He found two terrified nine year olds clinging to each other and he grinned._

_"Found you." He growled._

_The man grabbed them both by the arms. He ignored their cries and struggles and tied thier hands using the bed sheets, Eren on one side of the room and Mikasa on the other._

_"Man, I knew I was gonna get paid for finding the Princess, but now I get to bring the king Alice too?"  He mumbled as he worked. Eren hadn't understood the words back then._

_The man was ugly and bald with a sickening gleam in his eye. "Maybe I can threaten the king into giving me his savings. I mean, I have his only family member right here." He chuckled. "Or I can keep her for myself."_

_Eren glared at the man. "Don't touch my sister!"_

_His neck whipped to the side as the man's fist connected with his cheek. "Don't raise your voice at me, you fucking runt. I have the power here, and I will do whatever I damn well feel like."_

_To Eren's horror, the man started putting his hands on Mikasa. When the bastard lifted up her nightgown, Eren saw red._

_He remembered nothing of what happened afterwards. According to Mikasa, he ripped his wrists out the flimsy bond and used the shredded sheets to choke the man from behind. He struggled and tried to reach Eren's neck but the pressure was too much and he lost conciousness._

_From there, Eren ran downstairs into the kitchen and grabbed his mother's special butcher knife. He came back up and stabbed the man multiple times in the chest, screaming obscenities as his sister looked on in horror._

_Unfortunately for the children, the man hadn't been alone. His companion was waiting outside for his friend to arrive with what they came for. The man never came out so he went in and heard screaming upstairs. He rushed up there and saw a boy no older than nine stabbing his friend in the chest. He also recognized the king's little cousin standing tied up farther off._

_The new guy grabbed Eren by the neck, causing him to drop the knife. "Who the hell are you?!" He screamed in the child's face before he noticed his eyes. "So this little shit is Alice, huh? And you took out a grown man all by yourself, but that won't happen again. I'm gonna take you in and reap the rewards."_

_Eren didn't know why this man kept calling him Alice, all he really wanted to do was get away from his stinky breath. The fingers around his throat pressed harder and his eyes bulged._

_When Mikasa saw that helpless, desperate look in her brother's eyes when only moments before he'd been stabbing someone for her sake, something inside snapped. She quietly picked the knife and undid her bonds. Then, mustering up her courage, she charged at the other man with incredible strength and speed._

* * *

  _When Carla got home that night , she entered her children's room to see if they were sleeping, and she screamed at the sight of two dead bodies on the floor, ripped sheets at one's neck and a knife sticking out of the other's chest._

_She frantically threw her bedroom door open and found her son and daughter, still clinging to each other in their sleep and covered in blood._

 


	6. Plans

"Your older cousin is the leader of Trost's scariest gang," Eren deadpanned at Mikasa, "whom my dear father just so happens to owe a debt to."

"And it's no small debt either." Hatter mumbled. 

"Exactly how much money did he steal?" Eren gulped. 

"Let's see," Hatter shuffled some papers and did a few mental calculations. "Around fifty grand."

He choked on his spit. "What?!" Even Mikasa's eyes widened at the number. 

"We haven't the slightest idea why, but it seems your father only stole two thousand every other month since January of 2009." Erwin said. "It's an odd pattern."

Eren gave a knowing glance to Mikasa. "Do you mind if I see this pattern?" He asked. Hatter handed him the paper. After looking at it, he sighed and gave it back.

"He stole the money to pay for my mother's hospital bills." Eren said. "The payments were due every other month and medicine was expensive. We'd always wondered where he was getting the money from. He splurged that Christmas, 2008, and a month later, Mom got really sick."

"However," Erwin said, "two thousand for six months for two years is only equal to $24,000. What happened to the other twenty six grand?"

"Well, he must have taken it and run off." Eren said. "Our mom passed away in 2011, so he only needed money for the bills for two years, like you said. It was the day after the funeral when he up and left. All I remember is him leaving Kasa and I in the living room, saying he'd be back the next morning. He didn't show up. Our friend Armin's grandfather checked in on us until we were eighteen and now we live as we usually do." He finished.

"Does the other twenty six grand have to apply to us? I mean, I understand the first half of the debt, but can't you blame the rest on Grisha?" Mikasa asked.

Hatter shook her head. "Sorry, Your Highness, but you know His Majesty doesn't work like that. The full debt has to be paid off by, if not the person who made it, their relatives. It's a law."

Mikasa sucked her teeth. "We can't even get a discount for me being related to your precious king?"

Erwin looked up, thinking hard. "No," he said, "however among the card soldiers, you get the most respect, Your Highness."

"This is inescapable, isn't it." Eren said. 

Hatter grinned. "I mean, you could die, but we'd be sent out to find some innocent soul to give us your fifty grand. Probably a rich, hardworking man with a family....."

Eren sighed. "What are we supposed to do?"

"Nothing huge, just random acts around the compound." Hatter said. "For now, anyway. Cleaning is around $25 an hour, and the bigger projects like sneaking around for His Majesty cost more, but are rarely given. You'll receive a uniform, of course. Rex can't stand anything disorderly.  In fact," Hatter dug around in the file some more. "Here you are. A list of ranks (not that you really need it) and rules. I'll tell Moblit to get you two uniforms."

With that she stood and went outside. Eren looked over the papers he received. 

"I have to address the higher ranking soldiers by their proper names.  _Miss_ Hatter and  _Mr._ Blue. The king is _always_ called His Majesty or Rex, and those names only." Eren scoffed. "I'm sure Kasa here can call anyone what she damn well feels like, with her being a Princess and everything."

Mikasa looked at her brother and smiled softly. "I'll make sure he learns the rules, Erwin."

He nodded and Hatter came back into the room with two packets of clothes wrapped in plastic; they looked a lot like school uniforms.

Eren opened his packet and yelped. He held up the fabric. "Why the hell is this a skirt?! Did you give me Mikasa's-"

But when he looked over, he saw Mikasa had a skirt as well.

Hatter laughed. "Sorry, but the people cleaning have to wear skirts whether they're male or female."

Eren blushed fierecely and stuffed the outfit back into its plastic. "I refuse to wear this."

"You can wear that or you can wear nothing at all." Hatter shrugged.

"I can't believe.....how do you expect me to...." he went on mumbling while his sister just grabbed the clothes and stacked them atop hers.

Erwin smirked. "If I were you, I'd start enjoying my last week of freedom. Hang out with friends. Relax. After Monday, you can't turn back."

"Well, kiddos, that's all we have for you today! See you on Monday!" Hatter shouted and waved as Blue got up and they walked towards the door. "Moblit can show you out."

 _That's it?_ Eren thought.  _They'd just let us go without knowing that we'd come back?_

"OH!" Hatter screamed, running back in.  "If you try to escape the country, we'll know, and we'll drag you back kicking and screaming. Not to mention His Majesty will add another twenty thousand to the debt."

Eren's jaw dropped. Hatter winked, saluted, and disappeared. 

The card soldier, Moblit, came in and led them out again. On the outside, the compound looks like a church. Once Eren and Mikasa were free, he gave her a long look. "You have a LOT of explaining to do when we get home."

* * *

 As it was already eight thirty when they caught the train, Eren didn't bother trying to make it to class. When the siblings walked into their house, they found Armin on the floor eating a plate of takeout and watching television.

"Oh, Armin what are you doing here?" Eren asked.

"Hey! I came over to hang out, but you guys weren't here, so I got us some food and waited. What happened?" Armin asked.

Eren rolled his eyes. "Remember the gang I asked you guys about? They put the Wings of Freedom on my locker, so Pixis fired me because of the bad publicity it gave the cafe. As Kasa and I were walking towards the train, we were knocked out and taken to their base." His voice grew louder with every sentence. "There, I learn that my sister is actually the gang boss' little cousin, and I have to work to pay off my father's fucking fifty grand debt!"

Eren flumped face down onto the couch. "What am I supposed to do?" He moaned into the pillows.

He felt a hand on his shoulder and looked up. Mikasa was smiling down at him. "Don't worry, Eren. I'll work hard so that we'll be away from them in no time."

"If you guys want, I can help." Armin said, causing the siblings to look at him incredulously. "I'm serious! Our  classes are already almost done for the semester. We can take the test online and get this done during the week. Besides, it'd be no fun over here without you guys." Armin said.

Eren smiled. "Thanks. I don't think they'd mind me having extra help. All right then! Let's get this over with! I'm ready for anything!"

 

 


	7. Work

Eren was  _not_ ready for anything.

He and Armin spent the entire weekend going over the list of rules Hatter gave them. They came in on Monday and explained the situation to  Hatter, who gave Armin permission to take on the debt as well. She gave him a uniform and sent him on his way. From that moment on, it was a complete train wreck.

First came the outfits. Eren was stuck wearing a blue, black, and white maid's dress with white stockings and his black army boots. Seeing the outfit in tissue paper was completely different than actually wearing it around other people. It took Mikasa and Armin nearly ten minutes to coax him out of the dressing room.

It wasn't until Moblit actually gave him a bucket of cleaning supplies and left him to it that Eren realized: he didn't know how do clean. Sure, he can wipe down a table with a napkin but actually fixing rooms and polishing floors? What was he thinking?

_Okay, Eren. Don't panic. Cleaning can't be that difficult, right? First, let's pick out the obvious problems._

His green and golden eyes scanned everything. 

The entire room was covered in a thick layer of dust. Something on the floor caused his boots to stick with every step. The bed in the middle was a mess of sheets, and a pungent smell wafted out the slightly open bathroom door.

Eren fought down his breakfast as he entered the bigger of two evils first.

The toilet was clogged, the bathtub had multiple rings, and he couldn't even see his own reflection in the mirror.

He dropped the bucket and fell dramatically to his knees on the lush carpet; the only clean thing in the room.

_Alright, I can do this. Just  turn on the bath water, take the bleach, slather it on the sponge, and get to work. Worry about the toilet afterwards._

The sound of rushing water helped calm his nerves and Eren was proud of himself for making a plan. By the time he set to work, it was already nineteen past eight in the morning. 

* * *

 

 Eren slipped the sponge into the bucket and sat back on his knees. He took off his gloves and wiped at his forehead.

The door creaked open and he whipped around, but it was only Hatter and her guard Moblit. "Hey, Eren! We just stopped by to see how it's-" she stopped mid-sentence.

Eren rose shakily to his feet. ".....What is it? Is it that bad?" He looked around the room. "I didn't get around to the bed yet, but I finished everything else. Even the bathroom."

Hatter shook herself out of her trance. "No, the room looks great Eren! I just never realized how adorable you look in that outfit!"

Eren blushed. "That is besides the point!" He said. "Did you have to tell me something, Miss Hatter?"

"Ah, yes, the matter at hand." And just like that, Hatter was back to being businesslike. "You are wanted for an interrogation."

"What?" He was confused. "Interrogation on who?"

"Just a couple people you know that His Majesty has deemed unsafe to our operations." Hatter shrugged. "I don't have all the details yet, Blue just sent me to find you."

So Eren washed his hands in the bathroom and they were off.

When they reached the same room with the same blue metal table and the same chairs, he spotted a group of people that immediately made him dive behind Moblit and hide in his large blue cloak.

"Aw, Eren don't be shy! Our intel says these people are some of your closest friends!" Hatter grinned

"That doesn't mean I want them to see me in a dress!" Eren hissed. "Mr. Moblit, may I  _please_ wear your cloak?"

"Sorry, Eren." Moblit looked truly sorry. "This cloak is our symbol; only card soldiers and those working directly beneath Rex can wear them."

Hatter's maniacal laughter rang in Eren's ears as she pushed him into the interrogation room, but it wasn't nearly as loud as everyone else's.

"Jesus, Jaegar, you could have told us you fancied wearing a dress!" Jean gasped for air between laughs.

"I don't know what the fuck you're braying at, Horseface." Eren spat back.

"I don't know, I think he looks pretty cute." Sasha teased. Connie was leaning on her for support.

"Yeah, the headpiece really puts the whole outfit together." Ymir snickered.

"Yeah yeah, have a nice laugh. Eren's wearing a maid's dress, hardy  _fucking_ har." He mumbled.

Once they all calmed down, Krista turned to Eren. "I'm really happy you're okay, Eren. I thought you had a death sentence!"

"Yeah, what happened?" Marco asked.

"My asshole of a dad happened.Turns out he's been stealing money from this gang for a number of years to pay Mom's medical bills. After she died, he  ran off with the rest." Eren sighed.

"How much money?" Connie asked. 

"Fifty grand." Eren said.

Jean whistled. "You're in deep."

"Yeah, what else is new? Why are you guys here? And where's Annie, Bertholdt, and Reiner?" Eren asked.

Their faces seemed to droop down all at once. Krista's bottom lip quivered and Ymir gripped her hand tighter before speaking.  "We can't work at the coffee shop anymore. Late last night, someone snuck in and....they slit Pixis' throat."

Eren's eyes widened. "....what?" The man was like a father to him for years. He took all these college kids in and gave them jobs with good pay; he even helped with their assignments for Christ's sake. "What kind of bastard would do that to Pixis?"

"It wasn't the Triplets." Jean used his nickname for the three best friends that seemed inseparable. "Annie's shift was ending around the same time, so Bertholdt and Reiner came around to pick her up like they always do. Reiner claims they were spotted by the criminal, so now they're under witness protection."

"Yeah, Reiner claims." Ymir snorted. "They've all been considered suspicious since day one, if you ask me."

"I don't know, Ymir." Her girlfriend said in her soft voice. "They never seemed like the type to me. Reiner is more of an older brother, Bertholdt a gentle giant."

"And Annie?" She retaliated. "She never spared any of us a glance, much less Pixis. I wouldn't be surprised if she were the criminal."

"We don't know anything." Eren said. "It could be a lot more complicated than that."

"And that's what we're here to find out." A deeper voice said from the doorway.

Blue and Hatter stood there. "Welcome to the Survey Corps Headquarters, kids. We just have a couple questions for you, and you'll be free to go."


	8. Friends

"I would love to give you my real name, but if I did, I'd have to kill you. Therefore, let's settle for codenames, yes?" Blue smiled and tilted his head. "You can address me as The Blue Caterpillar, or just Blue."

"And I am the Mad Hatter!" Hatter bowed and then looked up with a wink. "Pleased to make your acquaitance!"

She took in the appearance of everyone in the room. "Alice, you never told me your friends were so adorable!"

Eren blushed furiously. "Miss Hatter, please. My name is Eren, not Alice."

"Of course, of course. How could I forget? My apologies, Alice."

"Hatter," Blue cut in, "why don't you go fetch Armin and Her Highness?"

"I'm on it, Blue!" Hatter said as she sped away. 

"Alice?" Jean questioned. "Like from Alice in Wonderland?"

"Oh, I get it!" Sasha said, staring at Blue. "You're the Blue Caterpillar, so you must give the boss of this gang military advice or something! And Hatter's crazy, so she must be the one going actively into the field!"

Blue chuckled. "Quite right, Ms. Blaus."

Sasha blanched. "How did you know my name?"

"I make it my business to know the name of eveyone who's ever stepped in and out of our building." Blue said. "The last time someone new came here, a bomb went off and killed many of our members."

"And....what happened to that someone?" Connie gulped.

"I'm sure the police found her body parts in the East River." Blue grinned with a crazed look in his eyes.

The room was dead silent until Hatter came bursting in with Eren's family. "I'm baaaaaack!"

"Good." Blue returned to his serious manner. "Now we can get started.

* * *

 "So," Blue began once Mikasa, Hatter, and Armin were seated, "Did your boss have any enemies, so to speak? Anyone that would want to cause him harm?"

The interrogation room was a lot more crowded than when it was just him and Mikasa, Eren realized. There were only a few chairs, but people made do. Ymir looked quite pleased with Krista shifting on her lap. Marco sat on Jean, and Connie was trying to breathe with Sasha leaning on his chest. They looked completely comfortable; they were the type of people that could make any space their own.

"Well," Marco said, "I don't know anything about enemies. But Pixis did always hate that guy who owned the grocery deli across the street."

"Oh yeah." Sasha said as Connie's face turned red from lack of oxygen. "What his name-Kites Woerman?"

"It's Kitz Weilman, but yeah." Jean said. "That guy had some serious anger issues; I remember a kid tried to steal a candy bar and he chased them out, threatening to beat him with a cane. No one has dared to enter his store without money since."

Blue raised his (abnormally large) eyebrows. "So this man has always been known as hostile?"

"I guess." Jean shrugged. "Pixis was always there to stop him from doing anything drastic or too crazy, but that pissed Kitz off even more. He'd always scream something like-"

"Get off my back, old man! I don't need you telling me what to do! Everything would be so much better if you'd just leave me alone!" Connie gave a spot on impression of Kitz's low pitched scratchy voice.

"They must have some kind of history." Hatter muttered. "Most people only hate others that much if one did something to interfer with their life."

"We'll look into it." Blue agreed. "Thank you all for your cooperation here today. Hatter can interrogate Kitz tomorrow."

"Why are you two doing this investigation?" Eren asked. "No offense to Pixis, I loved the man like a father, but aren't you two sent out only when it's a direct insult to Rex?"

"Rex?" Ymir muttered. "That's what the guy chooses as his name? What a weirdo."

There was a flash of bright light from the reflection of the metal dagger that was suddenly at Ymir's neck. Krista yelped and tried to protect her girlfriend, but Ymir's hands squeezed her hip, causing her to settle down.

Nobody saw Hatter cross the room.

Her head was down, but when she raised it, she was smiling without mirth. "You see, Ms. Ymir, we don't take too kindly to insults of our leader."

"And to answer your question, Ali-Eren," Blue corrected himself, "Pixis was a dear friend to someone important to His Majesty. He suspects his murder was a threat to him. And a threat to Rex is a threat to all of us."

He stared Ymir down for a few seconds before waving his hand. Hatter lowered her weapon and Krista hugged Ymir in relief. The brunette looked quite shaken. "My apologies. I'll  never do  _that_ again." She muttered.

Hatter brightened. "Apology accepted! Now, we have a proposition for you kids."

The college students' heads lifted in interest. 

"Pixis' will was found in his drawer. He left the entire building to Alice, actually!" Hatter said. Eren's eyes widened in shock. "But because Alice already owes so much to Rex, and because our leader is so kind, he's agreed to make it Survey Corps territory until Alice is finished paying off her fifty grand debt!"

"What?!" Eren shouted. "Are you kidding me? Pixis left that place to me, it's mine! It shouldn't be used like some gang hangout!"

Hatter shrugged. "Sorry, Alice. Boss makes the rules, we follow them. Anyway, because you're all out of a job, Rex has offered you a position in the Survey Corps! Isn't it exciting?!" She began to jump up and down.

Words started pouring out of everyone.

"Are you serious? A chance to join the most badass gang in Trost? Count me in!" Connie said.

"Me too!" Sasha exclaimed.

"What the hell, guys?" Eren said. "I got called by the Survey Corps and you all act like I'm going to die."

"It's completely different, Jaegar." Jean smirked. "You got summoned because of family debt. We got offered a position on the spot."

"Whatever." Eren huffed. "At least I look better in a skirt than you ever will, Horseface."

Blue and Hatter watched in amusement as they all yelled over each other, bickering about who would look better in a skirt.

On the outside, Eren was furious, but inside he knew this job was going to be a lot more fun with his friends around. 

 


	9. First Day

The next morning, Eren walked into the Survey Corps HQ thinking that from here on out, things were only going to get more interesting.

And  _boy,_ was he proven right.

Eren could hear the shouting from down the hall. "...We don't have time for this! We'll be late to Hatter's meet-up point...."

"Do I look like I care?! Fuck off, Armin!"

When he opened the door to the locker room, a fantastic sight awaited him.

Armin and Marco, already dressed and ready to go, were trying to persuade Jean, who was screaming his disapproval, to put on his uniform. Connie, halfway dressed, stood in the corner barely trying to stifle his snickers.

"Good morning!" Eren said with a smirk. Armin waved and Marco hesitantly smiled  as Jean glowered. He strode over to his locker, changed, and faced his four friends. Eren cracked his knuckles. "I'll get his arms, you get his legs."

And it was all over for poor Jean.

* * *

 

The boys met up with the girls and Hatter ten minutes later. Sasha sunk to her knees in laughter and pointed a finger at Jean before pounding her fist into the floor. Connie helped his girlfriend up with a non-apologetic look towards his friend.

"Alright, gang!" Hatter exclaimed. "I'll take you all to the janitorial space and Eren, Mikasa, and Armin can show you around as they've been doing this for a-" she stopped midsentence and adjusted something in her ear. "Yeah....no, she's with me....so soon?....yes, your Majesty, whatever you say."

Hatter clapped her hands. "Change of plans! My superiors have given me new orders. Please, follow me!" She shot down the hall at a fast pace, the little bells on her boots jingling with each step.

Hatter led them to two gray, steel doors. "Hold on to your skirts, kids." She winked before throwing them open.

Eren's eyes nearly bulged out of his head.

A cool breeze blew his hair back from his eyes as he gazed at the open space.

Behind glass walls on his left and right lay weapons of every size, shape, and form. Guns, daggers, swords, rifles, and bats only took up about half the wall. The roof was made of glass and the sun reflected off the shiny weapons, blinding everyone. The blue floor was made out of the material used in karate mats. A group of people sparred in the corner, but when they saw Hatter they bowed to her and left silently.

"Welcome to the training arena, ladies and gents! A group of fresh meat like you have _never_ been brought down here so early in their career, so feel special!"

The college kids turned in full circles as they took in the vast space.

"Wait." Mikasa faced Hatter. "Why would you bring us here? Eren, Armin, and I still have a debt to pay off."

"Kasa!" Eren protested.

"My orders come from my superiors. As you know my status here, you can guess who those would be." Hatter said.

"Yeah, but why would His Majesty want to train us so soon?" The oriental glared warily.

Hatter's eyes flashed with excitement. "Rex felt it necessary to increase your mission pay. On Monday, you worked for approximately 3 hours each. That took $225 off your debt. Now, you move on to the missions.

Each mission takes off $50. That means," She turned towards the others that didn't owe the Survey Corps, "You all get paid $50. However, you need to train. By November, I want your fighting capabilities and stamina to match, or even surpass, those of a card soldier. If you graduate this training camp with flying colors, you might even be put in my or Blue's squad!" Hatter raised her arms. "There are multiple paths to choose!"

His gold and green eye shone. "I'm going to ace this camp!" He said enthusiastically. "There's more than enough room for me to kick Jean's ass."

Jean guffawed. "Yeah right, Jaegar. You couldn't beat me if you tried."

"White." Hatter deadpanned. "Another thing you'll be tested on is teamwork. On the color scale, that's the lowest mark you can possibly get."

Jean paled. "Color scale?"

Armin spoke up this time. "White, Yellow, Orange, Green, Purple, Navy Blue, Gray, and Black. They test your performance on that scale."

Ymir snickered. "Obviously, someone didn't do their reading."

Eren snorted, but a small blush was creeping up his neck. He hadn't known about the color scale either, despite all of Armin's efforts to teach him everything on the handguide.

"Those that graduate with all Blacks get the honor of a) choosing a position in the Survey Corps hierarchy or b) serving the king himself!" Hatter cried. "So work hard and do your best! "She skipped towards the doors."

"Wait, Ms. Hatter!" Christa said. "Aren't you going to train us?"

"No, my dear. I'm afraid you'll be fighting a much more dangerous opponent than I." Hatter smirked. "The Pink Brigade. Have fun!"

And the doors slammed close with an echo. 

"The Pink Brigade?" Jean muttered. "Who is she talking about?"

Marco smiled and lightly swatted Jean upside the head. "You told me you did the reading, liar. The Pink Brigade is His Majesty's handpicked group of elite soldiers. I really didn't think we'd be fighting them on the first day..."

Meanwhile, Eren's eyes grew with excitement. "Handpicked elite by the King? Hell yeah, this training will get me strong in no time! Bring it on!"

At the end of his sentence, the screeching of metal wire shooting from equipment. Heads turned and craned trying to find the source of the noise, but no one could pinpoint the exact location it was coming from. Then four figures dropped form the sky.

* * *

 In another part of the complex, Blue and Rex stood at an impasse in the king's office. 

"We can't send Hatter. She's been on the streets enough as it is. Too much time out there and we'll start to look suspicious."

"What is it that you are not understanding, Your Majesty?" The blonde was exasperated. No matter how many times they discussed the topic, no matter how much the king knew he was right, he simply refused to see reason.

Rex scoffed. "I already told you, Erwin. It's bullshit. Your plan won't work."

"We haven't even spoken to the man yet. The Survey Corps has yet to interrogate Weilman-"

"He'll never talk. He's a certified Titan. If I send my number two and three out there, the Titans will think I'm making a move, and we'll be at war. Our wars get real ugly real fast, no one knows that better than you." Grey eyes locked with blue. 

Blue stiffened but quickly recovered. "I was wrong about sending either me or Hatter. But we could get one of the newer recruits to go undercover. From the batch of college kids that worked at the coffee shop; I know you're aware that the two businesses were across the street from each other."

The king seemed to consider this. He slid his gaze from Erwin to the door behind him. "Get in here, shitty glasses, I can hear you panting from in here."

The door burst open and Hatter waltzed in breathless. "Good morning, Your Majesty. I apologize for being a little late, one of the new recruits had a hard time getting into uniform this morning." She snickered at the memory.

Rex took in that sentence and glared at Erwin. Blue sighed.

"Obviously, some of them can't handle it, but there are others to choose from. Others like....Alice, perhaps?"

The king narrowed his eyes. "Alice is the most important person to me right now, the deciding factor in this game, and you want her to go sauntering into Titan territory? That's it, Erwin. I'm increasing your days off, though it's not like you work anyways. You've officially lost your mind." He stood up and made for the door.

"You haven't heard everything, my lord." Blue stated quietly. Rex paused for a moment, an indication for him to continue. "Alice still has a large debt to pay off and there's nothing she wants more than a chance to prove herself. Not only will you make her happy by taking more money off, you are giving her the impression that you trust her. She'll be more willing to listen to you. Alice's participation is crucial in the game."

Rex said nothing for a minute. Hatter shifted uncomfortably, caught between the two men. Then, "Four-eyes, I want her in my office by twelve pm sharp. If she gets hurt or caught by those sons-of-bitches, I'm cutting your balls off Erwin."

And the door slammed shut.

 

 


End file.
